Love Struck
by Tenshi Ai
Summary: As we all know, Derek is a layed back, typical teenager. But what happens when he falls upon the new girl who desperatly needs help in life? Can Derek help her, or will he just fail the one thing he set his mind to?
1. Chapter 1

"DEREK!" Casey jumped over the couch, passed the kitchen, and ran heading to Derek's room. Before she could step in, he slammed the door in her face. She pounded on the door furious,

"DEREK! Give it back!"

"Why you hiding it? Must be something good in here" he yelled back. He smirked and looked through her english book, the only purpose to copy off her homework. But he had something else in mind. There was a reason Casey didn't want him to have it. One, it was her notebook, and two, something good is in there. A good secret. He smirked looking through the notebook. He stared at the neat handwriting and the well organized charts. _Discusting._ he thought.

"Derek! Give it back now! C'mon, DEREK!!!!" But there was no answer. She leaned her back against the door, trying to think of a plan. But she was stumped. For the first time ever, she didn't have a plan.

Derek found the homeword page. He scrummaged around his drawer and found a pen and a tissue. _Why the hell do I have that in my drawer?_ He asked himself. But he just shrugged and copied the homework on the piece of tissue. Then he went back to the notebook and smirked. _Let's crack her little secret_. He turned each page to find just neat notes. He rolled his eyes, and when he was about to quit, he found a pink post-it mark. He took it and turned to that page. He smirked, "Jackpot"

Casey paced and paced in front of Derek's room. The door open, and she flung around and grabbed his shirt,

"Give. Me. Back. My. Book." she said gripping on his shirt. He put his hands out,

"I just copied the homework, don't get your head tied up in a knot. Though, that won't be the first time"

"Where is it?"

"Right here, calm down" He gave her the book cooly, and shrugged her grip off. She looked through the book to find everything in place. She looked at him in desbelief,

"No marks. No pen marks. No stains. No nothing. You really just copied my homeword, didn't you?"

He grabbed his leather jacket and threw it over his shoulder, "Duh. I don't have time to look at your girlish handwriting" He started walking down the hallway, then he turned around and looked at her, "Now, if you don't mind, I have my own buisness to tend to"

Casey rolled her eyes, "Since when do you have 'buisness'? What are you gonna do. Throw spit bombs at Ed?"

"Nah. Hang out with friends, eat pizza, go to the arcade...and tell everyone how in love you are with Zach"

Casey's mouth dropped open, her heart pounded against her chest. She gripped tighter on the book. Anger was thrusted on her, and she was really pissed off. She was worried too. The whole school will know that she's all ga-ga for Zach Staple (Hey, the stampler was right next to me, and that was the only option for a last name).

Derek turned around and smirked. _She's gonna blow in 3...2...1..._

"DEREK!"

She charged right at him and he ran. He sat on the railing of the stairs and slid down. He grabbed the cookie from his dad's hand.

"Hey, I was going to eat that" said George with his newspaper in his hands.

"Sorry dad, gotta run, literally. Bye Nora, see ya Ed!"

"DEREK! GET YOUR BUTT OVER HERE!!"

"Ha, gotta run" He ran outside, and went in the back of his friend's car. Matt, his friend, looked at him,

"I'm guessing she's mad" he said looking at Casey. She was screaming at him. Derek rolled his eyes,

"Oh yeah, step on it"

"You got it buddy" Matt stepped on the gas petal, and they headed over to Genos Pizza.

Casey paced and paced, "Dammit, I have to do something. And do something quick...he can't tell anyone. I will be scarred for the rest of my life. Oh maaaaaan" She sat down on the couch and rubbed her forehead. Lizzie came by and sat next to her,

"What's wrong" she asked.

"Derek is sooo annoying, and it's pissing me off"

"What's so new about that?"

"He figured out who I like and he's gonna spread it through the whole entire school and I can't do anything about it!"

"Ooo, you're screwed"

Casey darted her eyes to Lizzie,

"Uh, I-I mean, I'm sure Derek wouldn't say anything. He is annoying, but he isn't cruel"

Casey jumped up so quickly it startled Lizzie, "Yes he is! He's an annoying, stupid, airhead, slimball! He will tell everyone! And everyone will know! And then Zach won't ever talk to me EVER again! I don't know what to do"

Lizzie shrugged, "Why don't you just tell him not to tell anyone?"

Casey rolled her eyes, "He wouldn't listen to me! He would just laugh at my face and never make me forget it. I am doomed" She collapsed on the couch next to Lizzie. Then her face brightened up,

"I know, I could just ask him not to tell anyone!"

Lizzie facepalmed, "Oh, yeah, great idea Case, I wish I thought of that" she said sarcastically.

"Oh, sorry Liz, I guess I wasn't listening. Thanks, love you!" And she ran upstairs all happy. Lizzie slouched on the chair,

"This will be intresting"

"Alright, see you guys later!" Derek waved at his friends and took out his house key and went inside.

"Oh Derek, you want some cookies?" Casey was all smiley and had a tray full of cookies. He cocked an eyebrow,

"Um, Case, you okay?"

"Of course I am. Now, you want some cookies? I made them for my most favorite step brother"

Derek rolled his eyes, and threw his jacket on the coat racket, "I know you better than that Case, you want me not to tell everyone your love fest for Zach, am I right?"

"U-uh, of course not. Can't I make cookies for you with the only reason is because I want to?"

"You? No, I know you better, what do you want?" He collapsed on the lazy boy and started flipping channels.

"Can you please, please, please not tell anyone I like Zach, please"

"Sure"

"Really?" she asked.

He laughed, "No"

"C'mon Derek, I'll do anything"

He looked at her and smirked, "Anything?"

"Yeah, anything"

"Okay, I want you to do my homework"

"Okay, that's easy"

Derek smirked, "For the rest of the quarter"

"WHAT?!"

"You heard me"

"B-but, but-"

"Maybe I should call Sam, Eric, Brian-"

"Okay, okay, fine, you got yourself a deal"

"Good, now if you will excuse me, I have some buisness to attend to"

"What buisness?"

"The most important, sleep"

Casey rolled her eyes, "Guys"


	2. Life with the new girl

"_Shall I compare thee to a sumer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, and Summer's lease halth all to short a date_, that was a quote from Willian Shakespear. One of the most famous person in the history of time. Now then, can anyone explain what he was trying to say?" She looked at her class who looked half dead. She walked over to Derek who was asleep. She slammed her ruler on his desk, and he sprung up,

"Wha, what I miss" he mumbled.

"Derek, could you tell me and the class what this quote means to you?"

"Uh...what quote?"

She took a deep breathe, "C'mon people, you have to pay attention. You don't know when a pop quiz will just...er...pop up! And the test will be all about what I just told you. If you didn't listen, you will be sure to fail the test, and for some of you...fail the whole quarter"

Then there was a knock on the door, "Ms. Kane. This is your new student, Aimee. Now, can I have one of your students here to show her around?"

Derek looked at the new girl. His eyes stared up and down her body. Her black hair was layered and tied back, perfect tan skin, and big, brown eyes. Her eyelashes were thick, and her lips were full. He raised his hand quickly,

"I will"

Everyone stared at him in disbelief. He cleared his throat,

"I-I mean, um, I'll do it, y'know, just for the heck of it"

Paul, the guadiance councler seemed a bit hesitant, but he forced a smile,

"Um, sure Derek, yeah, you can"

_Score!_ "Cool, what do I have to do?" Paul took him out of the room with Aimee. Basically just telling him that he has to show her around and tell her where the classes are and such. He was surprised that he caught all that, he thought he would be distracted by her...er...figure. They went back to class, and as usual, Derek fell asleep...again.

[After Class

Aimee went over to Derek and nudged him,

"Derek, Derek, wake up"

His eyes opened slowly, "Huh, what happened?"

"You fell asleep during class, could you show me where my locker is?"

"Uh, uh, y-yeah, um, sure"

He stood up, and grabbed his nike jaw string backpack, and walked down the hallway, "So, nervous about your first day?"

"No"

"Really? Most students are here"

"Well, I'm not like most students"

His eyes couldn't stop going up and down her body. She glared at him, and that got him nervous,

"Heh, so...what class you got next?"

"If you're gonna check me out, do it so I don't notice"

"U-uh, I don't know what you're talking about" he stuttered.

"Yeaaaaah, sure you don't, just show me to my locker"

Derek was having second thoughts about this girl. Sure, yeah, her body was great, but her attitude was just too hard-core. They arrived to her locker, and surprisingly, it was next to his. _Oh great, I have to spend my year with Godzilla. Things __can't get any better. _She took out the paper card, and plunged in her locker number in the padlock.

"Alright, you can do whatever you want now. I can find my way around the school on my own"

Derek ran his fingers through his hair, "Yeah, sure, whatever you want"

She put her books in her locker, and closed it, putting her first two numbers in the padlock so it would be quicker to open. She looked down the hall and started walking. _Alright, room 428..._ she looked around, and she was in the 410's area. She walked straight down to find the same, brown haired perv. She rolled her eyes, _Please don't tell me we have music class together, please make him walk the other way._ She pleaded in her mind, but unfortunatly, he walked into room 428. She rubbed the crindge of her nose. She walked into a room, to find no chairs. Only a few. A wooden piano, and a big grey rug. That's probably where they're going to sing. Derek looked around the room, and caught Aimee. _Oh, damn, I have class with her? Two periods in a row?_ Sam walked over to him,

"Yo Derek, you okay?"

"No, I'm not. She's here"

"Who? Casey?"

"No, the new girl"

Same looked at Aimee and smiled, "What? She's cute. What's the matter?"

"No, she's not cute. She's a monster"

"Nah, you gotta be kidding me. She seems like a nice sweet girl to me"

"Well, _you_ haven't talked to her yet. I'm tellin' ya, she's vicious"

"Yeah, okay, maybe I should talk to her"

"Fine, but don't come crying to me when she makes you cry like a baby"

"Is she that bad?"

"How the hell am I supposed to know? But I'm not taking the chance. She just seems like a nice girl, but I think that she's vicous in the inside"

Sam rolled his eyes, "Whatever you say, but I'm going over to her and prove that she's a sweet, innocent girl"

Derek rolled his eyes, "Yeah, good luck with that"

Sam walked over to her and tapped her shoulder. She turned around,

"Yes?"

"Hey, I'm Sam, you must be the new girl"

"That I am"

"Yeah, you have a name?"

"Yeah, I do"

Sam was waiting for a reply, but she didn't say anything, "Uh, can I know your name?"

"You can"

Sam was waiting for another reply, but she stayed silent like she did before, "Umm, why won't you tell me you're name?"

"Because, you didn't ask"

"Oh, well, would you tell me your name?"

She sighed, "Aimee, it's Aimee"

"Oh, well, nice to meet you"

"I wish I could say the same thing"

Sam was surprised. For once, in a loooooong time, Derek was right, "So yeah...I'm gonna go, and...er...shine my shoe"

"Have fun"

He walked slowly to to Derek, then he ran, "Okay dude, you're right"

"See, what did I tell ya?"

Aimee looked at the teacher. He looked like the typical music teacher, a carefree, open-minded, hippie. Though, he wasn't as colorful. He wore the regular collar shirt, jeans, and steal-toed shoes.

"Alright class, take your places. Aimee, dear, you can stand next to Stephanie, Steph, would you mind raising your hand?"

A blonde, perky girl raised her hand, "Over here!" she said chipper.

Aimee walked over to her. Studying her, she could tell she was the chearleader type. A denim skirt, a pink tangtop, a couple of hundred dollar braclets, long pink nails, pink highheels, and to top it off, a pair of white big sunglasses mounted on her head. She looked at her,

"Hi, I'm Stephanie"

"Um, hey, I'm-"

"Aimee, I know, new here right?"

"Yeah-"

"Well, don't be nervous. This is a great school!"

"I can see-"

"I'm the head chearleader. If you want to join, you can sign up! And the best singer here, so if you want some pointers, I would be gladly to share them with you"

"Um, thanks for putting up the offer"

"Oh, no problem"

She smiled a huge grin, too big for her mouth. Aimee just nodded her head whenever she talked. Never changing the expression on her face.

"Alright class, my name is Mr. Greco, and I'm your music teacher, and the only reason I introduced my self because we have a new student in class. Aimee, dear, raise your hand"

Aimee put up one finger, "Um, here"

"Alright then. Today we will be singing _Look Through My Eyes_ from the famous Disney movie, Brother Bear. Now, would anyone like to lead sing?"

Stephanie raised her hand, "Oh, me Mr. G!"

Derek went close to Sam, "Not a surprise" he mumbled to him.

"Stephanie, sweetie, maybe we should have a different lead singer. You sing too much in this class" he smiled.

Stephanie put her hand down slowly, "Okay, only if someone else wants to sing"

Mr. Greco looked around the room, and a wide grin went on his face when he saw Aimee, "Aimee, would you sing for us? You are a new student, and everyone here has to sing lead at least once"

"Mr. Greco, I'm not much of a singer"

"Oh, c'mon, just one song. It couldn't hurt. And everyone has to sing at least once"

Aimee took a deep breath, "Fine"

"Good luck Aimee! Oh, and don't worry if you're not as good as me, you still get credit if you suck!" said Stephanie.

"Heh, this will be intresting" said Sam.

"Yeah, I won't be surprised if the windows crack"

The two boys chuckled. Aimee took her seat on the piano, "Do I play too?"

Mr. Greco looked at her surprised, "You can play?"

"Yes, I can"

"Oh, here's the music then. Are you sure you can sing and play at the same time?"

"I'm sure"

Aimee took her seat, and kracked her knuckles. She looked at the sheat of music and started playing. Before she knew it, she was singing too. Very well. Derek stared at her, and rubbed her chin, "Damn, she's really good" he said to Sam.

"Yeah, she it. Wow. Better that Casey...er...kinda"

"You still like Casey?"

"Shut up. No I don't"

"You do" Derek smirked.

"I do not. I'm over her. And besides, I broke up with her"

"Yeah, sure, whatever"

[After Class

Aimee was walking to her locker, then she saw a girl drop her stuff. She rolled her eyes, _Why do I have to be so nice?_ She walked over to the girl, and helped her pick up her books. She stood up and gave it to her.

"Thanks a ton" she said.

"Don't meantion it"

She put out her hand and smiled, "Hi, I'm Casey. Would you mind telling me your name?"

"I'm Aimee" Aimee put her hand out and shook hers.

"So, are you new here?"

"Yeah, I am. Notw if you would excuse me, I have to get to my other class"

"AIMEE! AIMEE! WAIT UP!"

Aimee looked behind her, and saw Derek running to her. _Now what does he want._ When he met up with her, he saw Casey,

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because I go to school here!"

"Yeah, well, whatever, hey, Aimee-"

"You know each other?" she asked.

"Yeah, Derek here is my stupid step-brother"

"And this _thing_ over here is my step-sister"

Casey hit Derek on the shoulder, "I am not a _thing_"

"Oh, yeah, forgot, you're a _what_"

Aimee rolled her eyes. _I don't have time for this_, and she moved on with her class. Derek noticed that Aimee was leaving,

"I gotta go"

Casey cocked an eyebrow as she sees his running down the hallway to catch Aimee. He caught up to her. She looked at him,

"Can I help you?"

"Uh...your'e a good singer. You're a really good singer, you're parents must be proud of you"

"I don't have parents" she said still putting her books in her locker.

"Oh, then you're like me. But I only have one step-parent"

"I don't have real parents"

"So you were adopted?"

"No"

Derek cocked an eyebrow. Aimee closed her locker and looked at him,

"My parents are dead" she said. Her expression didn't even change, and he was wondering why. He thought she would be a little sad.

"Oh, well, I'm-"

She put a finger on his lips, "Don't say you're sorry. I hate it when people put pitty on me"

She took away her finger slowly. Derek looked at her,

"Hey, at least you have you're uncles or something"

"Don't have. They're dead"

"Everyone?"

"Yep, uncles, aunts, cousins, everyone, I'm the last of my generation"

Derek couldn't help but feel bad for her. "Oh...but why don't you look sad? I mean, I would be"

"What are you talking about?"

"You never show emotion. That's pretty...er...weird"

"Me and emotions don't mix. The only emotion I show is when I'm annoyed"

"So you're not sad?"

"Did you come all this way just to barge into my life?" she asked annoyed.

"What is up with you? Why are you-"

"The way I am? That's my buisness, so stop trying to figure me out"

"What the hell did I do to you to make you act like this to me?!"

"If it makes you feel better, I act like this to everyone"

She started walking down the hallway to her class, and yet again, Derek was following her.

"What is your problem? I'm just trying to be nice"

"Well, I'm not" and she continued walking. But Derek wasn't following her. She stopped and looked back, and saw him lean his back against the lockers and ran his fingers through his hair. She rolled her eyes, _Dammit. Do I really have to do this?_ But she knew that she did. She walked over to him,

"Look, Derek, I'm sorry for acting the way I am. Please don't take it personally"

Derek looked at her surprised, "R-Really? Man, I didn't expect that"

She rolled her eyes, "Let's just start over" _What the hell am I saying?_ she thought. But there was no turning back. She said what she said.

[After one week

_A little recap during that week: Aimee and Derek are good friends now. But she's still "emotionless", but she throws a cocky smile once in a while. But rarley. Since she's good friends with Derek, she became friends with Casey and Emma_.

"So, did you get all the notes while I was gone?"

Aimee looked at Casey, "Yeah, what class?"

"Science"

"Um, yeah"

She reached into her locker and brought out a book. Derek quietly went behind the door of the locker trying to scare her.

"Don't even try"

"How did you know?" he asked astonished.

"One, you are horrible and trying to be quiet, and two, I can see you through the locker holes"

He looked through the holes and saw Aimee, "Oh, yeah"

Derek, and Casey came home. He saw Edwin watching TV so he tackled him,

"Derek!"

"Hello, now gimme the remote"

He grabbed the remote from Edwin and started watching hokey, "YEAH! C'mon! THE GOAL IS OVER THERE! OVER THERE! No, pass it to him! Pass it to him!"

Casey rolled her eyes, "Why do men always have to scream at the TV?" she asked George.

"Because that's what we do best" He sat next to Derek and screamed along with him.

"C'mon! get that motha fu-"

"George" said Nora with a warning tone in her voice.

"Uh, sorry Nora"

After the game, Derek headed to his room to do his buisness. Sleeping. He took his hockey puck and started throwing it up and down, catching it each time. Then he wondered if Aimee would like to hang out. But the problem was, he didn't have her number. Then he just thought about Aimee more and more...and he was having a hunch that there was something wrong with her. Something serious. Then a loud banging on his door intrupted his thoughts.

"DEREK!"

"What now?!" he yelled back.

"Give me back the copy of my homework"

He opened the door and shoved it in her hands, "Here, now go away"

Casey looked worried, "Derek, are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Fabulous. Spectacular"

"Fine, whatever, if you don't need my help"

She was about to walk away, but then Derek called her name, "Case, wait"

She turned around, "What?"

"...umm, Aimee, do you think...umm..."

"Well?"

"Do you notice something strange about her?"

She laughed a bit, "Yeah she's more quiet, and more serious than the others, but I don't see anything wrong with that"

"But, do you think she's...erm...sad?"

"Sad? Why would she be sad?"

"But don't you hear it in her voice sometimes? And her eyes?"

"Derek, now you're just being weird. And her eyes? That sounds a bit corny. Actually, really corny. Just tell me what you want to say"

"Well, she seems, miserable. I know you can't really tell, but I can"

"...so..."

"_So_, what if she's..."

There was a long silence. "Derek?"

"What if she's suicidal"

"What?! And she told you this?! We have to get help, we need to talk to guidance! What if she does suicide today? What if she does it now? What if she does it tomorrow? What if-"

"Casey! Calm down! This is why I didn't want to tell you because I know you were going to freak out on me. Just forget it, okay?"

"No, we can't forget it, we have to get help"

"Casey, you're going into this way too fast. I really don't know though. I can be wrong, just forget I said anything"

"No, I can't just forget. I have to talk to Paul"

"No! Then she'll know that I told"

"Derek, I'm going to go to the guidance councler whether you like it or not...but I'm just saying. It would be easier if you were t here" She turned around and walked downstairs. Derek went back in her room and groaned. _Dammit..._

Derek was walking in the hallway, and saw Casey going to him,

"Derek, this is the last time I'm gonna ask you. Are you going to come with me to the guidance councler or not?"

Derek sighed, "No, I'm not. Now quit asking me"

"Fine, whatever"

Casey walked down the hall at was at the door to the guidance councler. She turned back, just incase Derek was going to come, but he wasn't, so she slowly opened the door and went in. Derek looked behind him and saw the Casey was going in. He ran his fingers through his hair. _What the hell am I getting into?_

"Casey, is something wrong?" asked Paul.

"What? Why would you think something was wrong?"

"Well, you have been staring back and fourth at the door. Are you expecting someone?"

"Me? Expecting someone? No"

"Then what's the matter Casey?'

She took a deep breath, "It's about the new girl, Aimee"

"Ah...I see"

Then the door opened. Derek's head popped in.

"Derek?"

"Derek!" said Casey smiling.

"Umm...I...I want to help"

Paul smiled at him, "Alright Derek. Take a seat"

* * *

**Well, that's it. It was rushed, but the next will be better. And besides, it was only an introduction to the next chapter. It would mean the world to me if you posty a review! **


	3. The Dinner

"Well, after that long talk, all I can say is try to make her feel accepted. I know her past, and it was very hard for her. It may seem that she's strong, but like you said Derek, she needs help. I don't know if she's suicidal because she's smarter than that. But is there something you guys can do to make her feel excepted?"

Casey thought for a moment, then looked at Derek, "Should we invite her for dinner"

"Oooooh no, no, no, no, no, no"

"Why not?"

"Have you seen our family at dinner?"

"Derek, c'mon, it will make her feel excepted. And I'm sure Marti would lighten her up a bit, c'mon, it's worth a shot"

"I think it's a great idea" said Paul.

Derek leaned back against his chair, "Fine, whatever"

Paul smiled, "Great. And you guys did a good thing. Some kids wouldn't think about going to guidance because they think it'll make it worse. It was a smart thing to come to me. I won't do anything yet, but update me when you finish your dinner with her. And remember, make her feel part of the family. Make her feel accepted"

"Ok Paul" said Casey.

Derek was about to go out,

"Derek"

Derek turned around and looked at him,

"You did a good thing today"

Derek just smiled a little, and they headed out for their next class. Casey just stayed in the office though. _She's probably talking about her loooove life._ He chuckled at the thought. He saw Aimee at her locker. He went behind her and put his hand on the other locker. She turned around,

"Hey Derek"

"Hey, Aimee, I was wondering, you want to go to my house for dinner?"

"Today?"

"Yeah"

"Derek...well...me and families, we just don't mix"

"That's what you said about people, and look, we're friends"

Aimee shook her head, "I don't know Derek"

"C'mon, please"

Aimee looked at him, "Don't give me that face, you're killing me"

But Derek continued to give her the face. She rolled her eyes and threw her backpack over her shoulder,

"Fine"

"Great! I'll pick you up at-"

"No!"

Derek cocked an eyebrow, "Huh?"

"I mean, I can get there on my own, you don't have to pick me up"

"You sure"

"Yeah, just give me your adress and I'll come around 7ish"

"Eh, make it 6ish"

"You got it"

Derek gave Aimee his adress, and was off to his 7th period class. He didn't realize how long he's been in that office. He felt a little guilty that he told the guidance, but he kept on trying to tell himself what he did was a good thing. Sam came over and tackled him from the back,

"DEREK! My buddy!"

Derek shoved him to the ground laughing his ass off. Sam helped him up,

"Thanks man, I needed a good tackle"

"Your welcome"

He bowed like a butler, and said 'your welcome' in an english accent. Derek chuckled and bowed,

"Any time" he said in an english accent.

"So dude, what's up? Haven't talked to you in a while"

"Nothin' much. You?"

"Yep! Got a hot date with Ms. Stephanie"

Derek broke down in laughter. Sam looked at him and raised an eyebrow,

"What?"

"Nothing" he said wiping the tears from his eyes from laughing.

"Dude, no, you gotta tell me"

"I went on a date with Stephanie once"

"Aaaaaaand?"

"Let's just say she has A LOT to talk about"

Sam facepalmed, "Ah, you gotta be kidding me"

Derek patted his back, "Sorry to break it to you buddy, but you're screwed"

"Yeaaaaah, thanks for the support"

"Any time"

"DEREK! She's going to be here in any minute! What's taking you so long! Get downstairs!"

Derek went downstairs and yawned. He rolled up his sleaves on his colar sweater, but left the buttons opened to show his white t-shirt. He only buttoned 5 just so his shirt can show. Casey looked at him,

"What took you so long?!" she asked annoyed.

"I was doing buisness"

"And what buisness is it now? Throwing spit bombs ar Ed, reading your comics, calling your friends, throwing the hockey puck up and down, or the most popular one lately, sleeping?"

"Ding ding ding! She got it correct! Ms. Casey just won five hundred dollars"

"Stop fooling around, she's going to come any minute. I want to make a good impression"

"Case, you always want to make a good impression. And besides, you won't make any impression with that thing on your face"

Casey touched her face in panick, "What happened?! What's on me!"

Derek went closer to her and squinted, "Oh, my bad, it was just your face. I thought it was an ugly troll"

Casey hit his arm, "De-rek! That wasn't funny"

"Ha! Yeah it was"

Aimee walked down a neighborhood and saw a nice little house. She looked at the number, and then the paper she had the adress in. _This is the right place._ She went in front of the door about to knock, but then she brushed herself off a bit. She was about to knock again, but then she heard screaming. She put her ear near the door and heard Derek and Casey's voice. She rolled her eyes. _Typical._ She knocked on the door, but there was no answer. She knocked louder knowing that with all the crazyness going on they couldn't hear her. The door opened, and it was Derek. His hair was messed up, and he was breathing heavy. Aimee raised an eyebrow,

"You okay there Derek?"

"Yeah, fine, I was just almost killed by Godzilla"

"I HEARD THAT!" yelled Casey.

A pillow hit the back of his head, and he closed his eyes trying to keep the answer inside. He opened his eyes again and faked smiled,

"Will you excuse me for a second"

He closed the door and she heard a lot of noises. The door opened and this time it was Casey. Jolly as usual.

"Hey Aimee, come it"

She went inside to find Derek on the couch, half dead. Once he saw her, he sprung back to life.

"Aimee! Hey, sorry about before, _Casey_ here was being-"

"Um, let me introduce to to our family" she said cutting him off.

She took her wrist and led her in the kitchen. She looked back at Derek who was mumbling something to himself. Casey led her to a kitchen and found a man with blonde wavy hair in an apren cooking. She took in the smell,

"It smells wonderful"

The man turned around and smiled,

"Oh, you must be Aimee, I'm George"

He took off his mittens and put his hands out. She shook his hand firmly,

"Nice to meet you George"

He smiled, "You're just in time, dinner is about to start"

A woman with short hair came in. She looked a lot like Casey. She smiled at her,

"Oh, hello, you must be Aimee. Derek and Case told me so much about you. I'm Nora"

Aimee shook her hand and then looked at Casey, "You talk about me?"

Casey smiled, "All the time. Now let me introduce you to the kids"

Then they heard a scream in the living room. They ran in the living room to find Derek blowing into a little girl's tummy. Her hair was fairly short, and she wore a purple sweater and purple pants.

"Derek, stop!" she laughed.

"Graaaaah, you got to say the password before I eat you!"

He blew again in her stomach and a loud laugh escaped from her mouth.

"But I don't know the password Derek!"

"Then I will eat you!"

"Please!"

Derek got off of her and put her on his lap, "There, you said the password"

"The password is 'please'?"

"Yep"

"That's lame" she pouted.

"Well, you can blame Dad, he said I have to educate you instead of showing you the best way to pick your scabs"

Aimee laughed, and Derek looked at her, "Well what do you know, she smiles!" he said astonished.

Aimee covered her mouth, and quickly went into her normal face, "Um, no I didn't. Anyways, who's this?"

She went over to Marti, and when she saw her face, she froze.

"...Irene..." she whispered.

Marti tilted her head, "My name is not Irene. It's Marti"

Aimee snapped out of her little trance, "Oh, I'm sorry, it's just you remind me so much of my little cousin Irene"

"YAY! I have a twin! Can I meet her?"

"Uh...Marti-"

"Oh Marti, ehhh...Dad was calling you" he said so Aimee didn't have to answer.

"No, I didn't hear Daddy"

"Oh, well, he did"

She ran off to the kitchen. Aimee mouth the words 'thank you' to him. Two other kids was walking down the stairs. The boy looked at Aimee,

"Oh, you're Aimee right?"

"That would be me"

"I'm Edwin. This is Lizzie"

"Hi" she waved her hand.

"Hello, nice to meet you"

"Alright, Aimee, c'mon, let's go in my room" said Derek.

Aimee followed Derek to his room. They went in and she looked around,

"Sorry, it's a bit messy"

"A little?"

"Okay, really messed up"

"Don't worry. My whole neighborhood is messed up" she mumbled.

Derek looked at her, "huh?"

"Oh, nothing"

She looked around the room, and saw a big stack of comic books. She picked one X-Men comic book and looked throught the pages,

"Is this what you do all day?" she asked.

Derek looked over his shoulder to find Aimee reading his comic book. He smiled,

"So, you a fan of X-Men?"

"Big fan. Logan's my favorite" she said without even looking up.

"I like Gene. She's hot"

Aimee looked at him and rolled her eyes, "Whatever you say. What are you looking for anyways?"

"Ummmm...here it is" Derek had a soccerball in his hands, "It's Lizzie's I thought I lost it. Good thing she didn't find out. She would get soooo mad at me"

"But you found it, and that's all that matters"

"I know, c'mon, we should have some dinner"

They walked downstairs, and went in the dining table and started to eat. Aimee looked at George and took a deep breath,

"Wow, I never had a home cooked meal in such a long time"

George put some mashed potatoes in his mouth and smiled, "When was the last time you did?" he asked wiping his mouth with the tissue.

"11 years old"

Nora looked at her astonished, "Really? Well, you can come here any day for dinner"

"No, I wouldn't want to be a bother"

"Bother? It would be an honor" bowed Edwin.

Aimee looked at him, "Maybe I can come again next week"

Marti spilled some mash potatoes on her sweater and started throwing a fit. Aimee stood up and wiped it off her sweater,

"There, no harm done"

"But I have no mash potatoes" she pouted.

"I can fix that" she took her plate and put some of her mash potatoes on her plate. Nora and George looked at each other and smiled. Derek smiled and popped some peas in his mouth.

"Wow, Aimee, you are very good with children" said Nora impressed.

"Thank you" said Aimee sitting back down on her seat. Marti had a huge grin and put more mash potatoes in her mouth and looked at Derek,

"I like her Derek. She's nice. And she's pretty. Is she you're girlfriend?"

Derek almost choked on the meat, and took a long gulp of his water,

"Uh, no Marti, she's only a friend"

"I want you guys to get married!" she bursted out.

George, Nora, and Aimee almost choked on their food. George wiped his mouth,

"Heh, heh, Marti, it's too early to talk about marriage"

"Oh, okay, maybe tomorrow then"

Casey chuckled and ruffled the little girl's hair. The rest of the night was just small talk. About school, grades, college, sports, the usual. And Aimee felt accepted. They didn't even seem to question her expressless face. For a while that is. Marti looked at Aimee, and noticed how she wasn't really laughing at any of the jokes that she thought was funny. She also noticed that whenever they talked about her family, she would never talk about her family. She put down the knife and looked at her,

"Aimee?"

Aimee turned her attention to Marti, "Yes?"

"How come you never smile?"

"Uh..."

"And how come you never laugh?"

"Well-"

"Are you sad?"

"Marti, that's enough" said George. But she didn't listen.

"How come you don't talk about your family? Are they bad? Are they far away?"

"Marti!" yelled George.

"What? I was just wondering. And how come you called me Irene before? Why can't I see her?"

"Marti, that is enough. You will not barge into this young lady's life"

Aimee put her hand up, "It's alright George" she turned her attention to Marti, "I never smile and laugh because simply me and emotions don't really mix. It's hard to explain really, but I was like that ever since I was little. And my family, well, they're looooong gone. So I don't think you can see Irene, baby. I hope I answered you're questions"

Marti looked at her and tilted her head, "You didn't answer if you were sad, or why you called me Irene"

Aimee stood up straight, "Well, you ask so many questions like her. You sound like her. And you look like her..." she paused for a moment choking back tears, but put on a fake smile, "And yes Marti...I can get sad sometimes. But that's not rare for me. But yes, I do get sad"

The table was silent for a while. She put down her fork and knife and stood up, "I'm sorry, can I be excused?" she walked into the kitchen and washed her face over the sink. Derek stood up, but George looked at him and shook his head. George stood up,

"I'll talk to her Derek"

"But dad-"

"No buts. Derek, sit down and I will handle it"

"Dad-"

"Derek...please, let me handle it"

Derek sat down because he had no other choice. George went into the kitchen and found Aimee with her head hanging over the sink. He walked over to her and touched her shoulder. She jumped a little, but then she turned around and sighed in relief,

"George, don't do that. You scared me"

"I'm sorry. And I'm sorry about Marti-"

"Don't say anything else. It's okay. She's little, so you can't blame her"

"Aimee...are you okay? Sweetie, I know I'm not your father, and I will never be, and I won't act like it if you don't want me to, but you can always tell me anything. Don't be embarresed or ashamed if you think what you're telling me is silly."

"I-It's just that...Marti reminded me of my past, and it...well, let's just say I don't really have a good memories back then. A-and...she's reminds me of someone I lost. Someone that I cared deeply for. And...it's hard y'know? Knowing that you'll never see your family ever again, and you're in this world all alone"

George looked at her, "Aimee, you are never alone. I know you just met us, but we will all be here for you. No matter what"

Aimee took a deep breath, "Thanks George. But I can handle myself."

And with that said, she went back into the dining table. George sighed, and went back to the table. There was a huge silence at the table. Marti looked at Aimee and frowned,

"Aimee, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings"

"You didn't hurt my feelings baby. It's okay"

Marti smiled at her, "Okay"

Aimee couldn't stop staring at Edwin, Lizzie, and Marti. They reminded her so much of her little couins, Brian, Ira and Irene. Then she remembered all the memories they shared. Then she remembered that dredful day. She tried to hold back tears. Her eyes were turning red. She stood up quickly,

"I'm sorry, I...I have to go" she ran off the table. They all looked at each other and stood up. They were at the door as Derek ran outside with no shoes, only socks. He went to her, and tried to grab her arm, but she shoved away,

"Aimee, Aimee, what's the matter?"

"Derek, I'm sorry, I have to go" she said choking back tears.

"Aimee, Aimee, look at me"

He turned her around, and her eyes were gushing red, tears begging to exlode out. He was shocked. Aimee looked at him and smiled weakly. Which was a bad sign,

"Derek. You're family. They're wonderful. Don't...don't take them for granted. You don't know what you have until they're gone"

"Aimee, Aimee, just tell me what's wrong. What's the matter?"

"Don't you see? You're family is wondeful. You're family was just like mine. And that's why I can't be with them! It reminds me of my family so much! I just can't stand it!"

"Aimee, we can work things out, together" he said holding her shoulders, "I will help you" he assured her.

"No, no, you can't. I can do things on your own. Don't try to understand!"

"I can't understand because you're not telling me anything!"

"You want me to tell you something?! FINE! I can't fuckin take it anymore!"

"Take what?! I don't understand!"

"Argh, look what you're doing to me!"

"What the hell am I doing?!"

"You're making me cry!"

Derek was silent. He didn't know what to say to that. He was just waiting, hoping she would say something else to break the silence. He just gazed into her miserable eyes. He couldn't stand it. She had to same something, and luckily, she did,

"You're making me cry! And I don't like it! I vowed that I will never cry again since I was 11 years old! I didn't cry since then, because I needed to be strong since I was bymyself" you could tell in her voice that she was going to burst, "I was bymyself then, I never cried since then, and I...I can't start now, I won't start now!"

Before she knew it, tears streamed down her cheaks, and it wouldn't stop. Derek did something he's never done to anyone, he pulled her against his body, and put her head against his chest,

"Shhh, it's okay. It's alright. I'm here, I'm here"

She shook her head in his chest, "It hurts Derek...it hurts a lot"

* * *

**Well, that's the chapter. Please, it would mean the world if you would review. :)**


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